Former nurse started a fire in her Gateshead home on Christmas Eve because she 'hated' living there

A former nurse started fire in her bungalow on Christmas Eve because she "hated" living there.

Marie Simpson had drank half a bottle of vodka when she set newspaper and leaflets on fire in her bungalow on 24 December last year.

When firefighters arrived at the property, the 68-year-old was found to be drunk and told them she had set the fire because she "hated where she was living".

Simpson, of Lilleycroft, Rowlands Gill, Gateshead, appeared at Newcastle Crown Court via link from HMP Low Newton to be sentenced for arson. She had pleaded guilty to the charge.

The court heard that the fire brigade was called to her home after smoke alarms were activated, with firefighters arriving at around 6pm on Christmas Eve.

When they arrived, Simpson was found sitting in her smoke-filled living room.

Kevin Wardlaw, prosecuting, said: "A pile of letters and leaflets were found burning, along with newspaper and a half bottle of vodka.

"There were burn marks on a sofa and cushions, which looked like attempts to set them on fire.

"There had been a number of attempts to set fire to newspaper and the sofa, causing smoke damage, but it had not actively taken hold."

Mr Wardlaw added: "The defendant was intoxicated and told the fire service she needed help and had no support from her family and hated where she was living.

"She said she had deliberately set fire to the sofa because she was fed up and sick of her life."

The court was told Simpson, who had four previous convictions for seven offences, was living in an end bungalow at the time with a next-door property to the left.

In August 2018, she was given a suspended prison sentence after deliberately setting fire to a sheet and a pillow in a home she shared with her then partner following an argument about her "excessive drinking".

Brian Mark, mitigating, said Simpson lived an "isolated" life in an "isolated area" and said she had been in custody for eight months.

He said: "It is essential she has treatment to deal with her alcoholism, she's already a vulnerable lady. She worked as a nurse for several years and led a productive life."

Mr Mark urged the judge to impose a community order.

The court was told that Simpson retired form nursing in 2017, which is when she began drinking alcohol excessively and was consuming up to a bottle of vodka a day.

Sentencing Simpson, Judge Edward Bindloss said that despite there being no injury caused, there was a risk that the fire could have taken hold and spread to the next-door property. He jailed her for 16 months.

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